Day 1 - 3: PASO ROBLES, California

We are staying three nights in this area.  We are staying at a very nice RV Park called Wine Country RV Resort.  We have stayed here several times before and it is a nice comfortable place to stay.  The only downside is it is near a small plane airport and it can be noisy during the day.  But it is in a good location and very close to the wine country.

SAN LUIS OBISPO

San Luis Obispo is about ½ hour south of Paso Robles.  We strolled down the main street (Higuera St.), checked out the galleries and ate lunch on the patio of our favorite restaurant, NOVO, and enjoyed the view of the creek walk along San Luis Obispo Creek. 

We visited an art gallery called “Just Looking Gallery” and met the cutest sisters; 10 week old French bulldog puppies named Flo and Clo.  

And last of all, you can not visit San Luis Obispo without seeing Bubble Gum Alley.  It’s disgusting, but fun.  And no I did not add to the display.  Although I was chewing gum at the time, I just did not want to touch that wall in any way.

At one of the unique shops I was chatting with the shop clerk.  She wanted to talk about where I came from.  We usually tell people we are from the Santa Rosa or Petaluma area.  Most people have never heard of Cotati (especially if we are out of the state).  This person knew Cotati because she is from Sebastopol.  She highly recommended we visit the Elfin Forest in Los Osos, which is on the coast about 10 miles west of SLO.  We had the time so we left to visit this "forest".

LOS OSOS

The bear statue at the north entrance was recently damaged.  Someone knocked the nose off of it.

EL MORO ELFIN FOREST NATURAL AREA is a 90 acre natural area belonging to San Luis Obispo County Parks and California State Parks.  This forest is a diverse plant community that is highlighted by its signature Pygmy Oaks.  The Coast Live Oaks can reach 50 feet.  But the Pygmy Oaks only reach a height of around 12 feet. This is where the elves live. Thus the name ‘Elfin Forest’.  Sometimes you can catch them playing under the Pygmy oak trees in “Rose’s Grove”. The forest has over 200 plant species, 110 kinds of birds, many mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and home to rare species of plants, butterflies, snails and birds.  

The forest is protected so you cannot just wander through it.  But there is a 1-mile long boardwalk loop that you can walk on and appreciate the plant and animal life and enjoy the views.  You can see Morro Bay and the famous Morro Rock as well as the smokestacks of the long-closed PG&E generating station.

                Rose's Grove                                      Pygmy Oaks

                                     This is where the elves play.

 Playing with Photoshop.

PASO ROBLES WINE COUNTRY

It was a beautiful sunny day to do a scenic drive through the wine country.  Paso Robles has more than 130 wineries and more than 32,000 acres of vineyards where 40+ different wine grape varieties are grown.  

We visited and tasted wines at five wineries.  We started at EOS Estates which is located right next door to the Wine Country RV Park that we stayed at.  In fact there is a gate at the park where we can stroll through the vineyards to get to the Winery.

We ended the day with an early dinner at the Berry Hill Bistro.  It is located at the park square in downtown Paso Robles.  It is our favorite place to eat in Paso Robles.

Our next stop is Ventura.